A Word Picture

"My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me."
 Psalm 63:5-8

Sometimes when I read scripture I get such a powerful mental picture of the words.  To see it come alive is breathtaking.  When I read "my soul clings to you" I picture a little blonde catapulting through the air wrapping her arms and legs tightly around my trunk, clinging with excitement, trust, love, and expectations. 

A little background: I have a kid who takes flying leaps, wrapping her whole body around me, in the best bear hugs ever.  She yells my name and runs and clings to me.  She's excited to see me, she trusts me, she loves me, and she expects me to be consistent and constant throughout her days of kindergarten.  Is my relationship with this student perfect?  No.  Do I still need to give reminders and sometimes even consequences?  Yes.  But she clings.  In excitement.  And genuine joy to see me. 

I think understanding that you are a child of God brings two powerful revelations.  The first one is it gives you just a tiny glimpse of the love that God has for us.  When I think of my student looking up at me and trusting me it brings me a greater joy than most things do.  And she's not even my child.  The Lord's love for us is vast and constant.  

The other revelation that stands out to me is that we really don't know the big picture.  Just like a happy-go-lucky kindergartener doesn't understand the constant battles it takes to provide for her, care for her, and even educate her.  She doesn't understand the big picture.  She doesn't see all the steps that are going to take her to first grade she just trusts that you're going to get her there.  She clings to you in hope and admiration, projecting a kind of faith that most adults struggle to rest in. 

I desperately want my soul to cling to the Lord just as a child does to an adult they trust and love.  Childlike faith is a real and powerful thing.  When you see the trust and the love shining in little eyes looking up to you--one of the people that is a protector and  caretaker for them--you get such a powerful image of what it means to be a child of God.  We are supposed to be dependent!  We are supposed to cling!  We are supposed to look up in awe and thankfulness for our Shepherd and our Guide.  I want my soul to cling.  I want to take refuge in the shadow of His wings.  And as my kiddo did, maybe even tell Jesus, "I could stick to you all day." 

Common Threads

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb.  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.  My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth."  Psalm 139:13-15

Did you catch that?  You were intricately woven in the depths of the earth.  Every strand of your personality, appearance, attitude, purpose, circumstance, and being were created specifically--specially--uniquely for you.  There is no other person exactly like you.  There never has been, and there never will be.  How AWESOME is this revelation.  I mean, really.  Let it wash over you.

"And God said, 'Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."  Genesis 1:26a

I am in awe of the creativity, the passion, and the love that the Lord shows by intricately, uniquely, purposefully knitting together every single person that ever was, is, or is to come.  Then I remember--not only are we created so intimately and personally BUT in His own image.  Our strengths reflect the Creator who intimately designed and wove them into our being!  When we build a community here on earth, not only do we get to experience the diverse beauty of His creation--but we get a broader and fuller picture of who He is.

When I read about David in the Old Testament and how he slays a giant with nothing but a slingshot and a stone, flees from a king pursuing his death, followed by his own son undermining his rule as king I think how could I ever connect with him?  His circumstances are too different, the divide of time is too great.  But then I read his words:

"And I say, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove!  I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.'"  Psalm 55:6-8

Maybe I don't know what it's like to be David--to be on the run for my life--to be king--to kill Goliath with nothing but a slingshot and a stone.  After all, he was intricately and uniquely woven in the depths of the earth just as I was.  But I believe in common threads.  I believe in common emotions, common thoughts.  I mean, I don't know about you, but I've wanted to fly away on wings like a dove on the regular.  This life is hard and messy.  I find myself reading the words of David and other Biblical brothers and sisters and saying YES, EXACTLY!  I find myself talking to friends and family who are under completely different stages of life--in different circumstances--and different seasons, and feel linked by the bonds of common threads.

I think the Lord is beautiful and mysterious and awesome in that He designed the ability to build community throughout the diversity found in His creation.  And if we are being honest as humans we desire to be different and special--set apart in a way, but we also ache to be understood.  I think God is the master of balancing the weights of our soul.  In a way that we don't even know we crave.

So there it is.

You are woven intricately--uniquely--specially.

You are created in the Creator's image.

You are loved, valued, and understood.

There are common threads.

Find rest knowing that the Lord has created you for this.   Whatever this is!  He hand picked and designed you for this moment, this circumstance.  And maybe no other person is facing the giants that you are...but they have their own brand of giants.  And there is commonality in that.  There are common threads.

Seek God, build that community, and remember that you were.made.for.this.  God has got you.  He has got this.  You are fearfully and wonderfully made.  Rest in the balance of being both one of a kind, and completely understood.

Heaven's Unlikely Weapon

"Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.

Behold, the children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth.  Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!  He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate."  Psalm 127

It brings me to tears when I think of the children of my class and this world who feel like a burden.  Like an afterthought in the constant whirlwind of this life.  Who ache for the love and affection of their Heavenly Father, but are never shown that kind of love.

I ache for the kids who are earthly loved and earthly cared for but don't know the consistency and sturdiness of having an eternal house built by the Lord.  Who feel anger, sorrow, confusion, unworthiness, and longing without the ability to process or understand those emotions.  I ache for the kids who are passed off by person after person.  For the kids that are so maddening, frustrating, and INFURIATING.  These are the kids that ache.  That crave something.  That long to feel protected, cherished, and valued.

Pull these kids close to me, God.  Love them through me.  Cherish them through me.  Value them through me.  Let them know that they are sharp, that they have purpose, that they are a mighty arrow in the hand of a warrior.  That they ARE.THE.REWARD.  Thank you for my kids, and the challenges, and the hard days, and the chance to show these kids that they are so worth it.  That blessed is the man who fills his life with them.  Because children are a heritage from the Lord and indeed I have a beautiful inheritance.  (Psalm 16:3)